The Wedding Banquet
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Psalm 34:1-7
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Exodus 13:1-14:18
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Reflections: Today, we see the completion of Moses, as a servant and deliverer of God’s people. Remember back when Moses was called how hesitant he was and uncertain of his ability to be God’s spokesperson. But we see the complete confidence Moses now has in His God when he says to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Like the Psalmist David, he had learned to put his total trust in God and knew that God would deliver His chosen ones from their enemies. As the psalmist says today, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
In our parable today, Jesus tells another story about how God’s kingdom works and specifically God’s desire to have His banquet hall full. The theme of a banqueting table in heaven runs throughout the bible. God’s desire is to provide a rich wedding banquet full of all the finest of food and drinks as we dine with him at His table. It is an image or foretaste of the feast to come, when we are with our God forever. But in today’s parable, a man comes in without the proper wedding clothes.
In those days and I guess today too, to come to a wedding without the proper attire was a huge affront to the host of the banquet. Jesus is speaking metaphorically again about the Jewish people, and specifically their leadership, who thought they could earn entrance into heaven by their good deeds. They came in on their own terms, rather than God’s terms, and the result was they were kicked out of the banquet hall.
Seems kind of harsh, but a sober reminder to us that God has invited us and called us to a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. To assume we can be prepared for heaven in some other way by our own righteousness, is an affront to God and denies the greatest invitation of all time to come to Him through His Son and His righteousness.
How are you tempted to have a relationship with God on your terms rather than His? How can you repent of self-reliance and self-righteousness, and instead accept God’s free grace in Christ so you can be properly prepared for the wedding feast which has no end?
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17
From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Romans 11:36
Almighty, omnipotent God, we adore you and we praise you. You inspire awe within us as we contemplate the magnificence of your creative ability joined with the splendor of your unconditional love for us, your creatures. What a glorious combination! Amen.
Psalm 34:1-7
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Exodus 13:1-14:18
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Reflections: Today, we see the completion of Moses, as a servant and deliverer of God’s people. Remember back when Moses was called how hesitant he was and uncertain of his ability to be God’s spokesperson. But we see the complete confidence Moses now has in His God when he says to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Like the Psalmist David, he had learned to put his total trust in God and knew that God would deliver His chosen ones from their enemies. As the psalmist says today, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
In our parable today, Jesus tells another story about how God’s kingdom works and specifically God’s desire to have His banquet hall full. The theme of a banqueting table in heaven runs throughout the bible. God’s desire is to provide a rich wedding banquet full of all the finest of food and drinks as we dine with him at His table. It is an image or foretaste of the feast to come, when we are with our God forever. But in today’s parable, a man comes in without the proper wedding clothes.
In those days and I guess today too, to come to a wedding without the proper attire was a huge affront to the host of the banquet. Jesus is speaking metaphorically again about the Jewish people, and specifically their leadership, who thought they could earn entrance into heaven by their good deeds. They came in on their own terms, rather than God’s terms, and the result was they were kicked out of the banquet hall.
Seems kind of harsh, but a sober reminder to us that God has invited us and called us to a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. To assume we can be prepared for heaven in some other way by our own righteousness, is an affront to God and denies the greatest invitation of all time to come to Him through His Son and His righteousness.
How are you tempted to have a relationship with God on your terms rather than His? How can you repent of self-reliance and self-righteousness, and instead accept God’s free grace in Christ so you can be properly prepared for the wedding feast which has no end?
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17
From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Romans 11:36
Almighty, omnipotent God, we adore you and we praise you. You inspire awe within us as we contemplate the magnificence of your creative ability joined with the splendor of your unconditional love for us, your creatures. What a glorious combination! Amen.
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